Remember When
by sameocheza
Summary: ...You clicked this story and read it? haha. Just kidding... Story Description: "Personally, it's hard to accept what you didn't choose. But destiny takes its course. Put love & hate in one room and you get Prince Syaoran and Princess Sakura. SxS pairing"
1. This is Where It Starts

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**Chapter 1****:** This is Where It Starts

Old folktales speak of wandering souls that chooses the bodies they will live in for a limited time. Each soul is designed to live for a purpose, and die once that purpose is fulfilled. Some souls end prematurely with much sense of emptiness. Even, after years of searching, one can never _find _what they've been searching for, their entire lives. At times, that very thing will appear, all of a sudden. Time plays tricks on us all. Without the slightest remorse, time's illusions takes the very thing we all desire the most and slabs the heart with the arrow of despair. In the journey to separating ourselves from the rest of the world, we tend to fall in a lot of holes or come across road bumps that were not meant to be there in the first place. We cannot prevent anything from happening once the damage is done. We stitch the wound of regret and cover it up with the bandage of pride. Our scars are as much a part of us as wings are a part of the soaring birds. Without it, we cannot take flight and explore the world we shut out so long ago. This causes the heart to close out all those who could give happiness in all its beautiful forms. The heart becomes cold, alone, and filled with dark memories of the past.

The story begins. When one day, our modern day heroine is caught off-guard by the one who haunts her dreams and plaques her mind, despite his false dismay. Can one really forget a person like that? Can the mind force the heart to look the other way? Is it logically possible for any heart to stop loving the one it loves the most? Does it just stop as quickly as it started? Can it truly erase all of what has happened in the past by replacing them with the memories of the future? Does the heart continue to beat despite the refusal to look through the unopened windows of her uncertain eyes? She takes it one step at a time, hoping the shadowed memories will not surface again….

**SYAORAN'S POV**

"Have you gone mad?" Was the first time he blunted out.

"My head is very well in tacked, if I do say so myself. The question is.. have YOU gone mad? Hm?" My father asked, intelligently, as he looked passed his reading glasses at me and went back to his newspaper once I fell into silence.

"Father. Let us make straight of things. We will sit and talk as gentlemen we are." I slowly sat on the chair directly across from him. He eventually surrendered, folded his newspaper, took off his glasses, and set both on the lamp table right beside him. He looked straight at me.

"Ok, son. We may speak. Rationally, I strongly suggest." He said.

"Father, must I take a hand of whom it belongs to … God knows bloody who!"

"Now, now. Calm down, Xiao. You know as well I, that this is good for both kingdoms, By marrying Fujitaka Kinomoto's daughter, you will rule all of Asia and more."

" But-"

" I'm sure she's lovely. She will make a fine wife for you one day."

" But I've never heard of her before."

"I'm sure you haven't. After all, she isn't the kind to attract scandal-hungry paparazzi, like the other girls you're usually allowing to hang around here. Frankly, it would be a breath of fresh air to have a decent young girl around here, who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to jab her tongue at your throat!" He firmly stated. "And don't you lie to me, Syaoran Li! I may be clueless at times, but I am certainly not blind and deaf. Maybe she can change you. Now, that would be a miracle, wouldn't it?" I am not Prince, I am no kind gentleman, nor am I fit to be a king. Sadly, I was born privileged, and shall I die as one too. Chasing my destiny was harder than I thought. All my life, I've been searching for something that I'm not quite sure it exists. Everyone of the royal advisory always tells me that fate and destiny were for the feeble-minded. I was taught martial arts, archery, horseback-riding, kendo, fencing, and foreign languages from Greek to the lost language of Atlantis. I had it all, the body, the women, the looks, the royal status, money, everything! So, why do I feel so incompletely? What is it that I'm missing? All these responsibility of being the 'proper' prince had left me cold and bitter.

No girl is going to change the way I am. NO girl! Certainly, no way in God's earth shall I change for some puny little girl who knows nothing to pleasing the likes of me! I needed a woman, not some little girl. I had already left my father's chambers and pacing down the stairs. I suddenly stopped when I felt an odd chill from behind me. I turned around. . .

**SAKURA'S POV**

I walked into this castle. My father couldn't be more wrong. One step into this home and already I feel unwanted. I only agreed to this to please my father. How could a woman degrade herself to the idea of forced love, let alone forced _marriage_? I am the Princess of Tomoeda! I cannot disappoint my kingdom again. I'm in a foreign country wearing foreign clothes, with nothing but a foreign feeling inside me. If marrying a royal stranger is what it takes, then so be it. Maybe for once, I can be a princess my kingdom can be proud of. I sighed.

I suddenly noticed I was walking in a dim hallway. As much as I am afraid of the dark, I kept walking towards the direction I had heard voices from; hoping someone there could help me. When I was closer, it seemed like the two voices were talking in secret. I slowed down, hoping not to be seem right away. I curiously looked up and I saw a man's figure at the top of the staircase. Immediately, I realized Eriol! Eriol Hiiragizawa is the Ruler of the Hiiragizawa Clan and he also happened to be my cousin-in-law. He married my second cousin, practically my older sister, Tomoyo. She and I are best friends. '_Thank goodness! Finally, someone I KNOW around here. Tomoyo must be here too!...' _I thought as I was ready to approach my dearest relative, happily, until I quickly realized '_Who is he talking to?' _I stopped.

There he was, standing in the dark part no less than 20 feet away from me. The Prince of China. My future _husband_. He isn't as monstrous as my brother described him to be, yet he does have that arrogant air about him; this, coming from just one glance from behind. I remained in the shaded part of the hallway, in fear I may interrupt their intense conversation.

"My little cousin," Eriol said. _'OMG, they're cousins?' _I know I shouldn't be eavesdropping right now but my feet were firmly planted on the ground in fear of being discovered. "…you have missed your fencing lessons yet again." He stepped a couple steps down. "Keep it up, there will be no mercy for another month from sensei. I prefer not witness such a sight, it's rather tiresome, really."

"Shut your bloody mouth, Eriol! I do not need to be lectured by the likes of you!" The Prince spat.

"It's the likes of me that saved your butt, telling sensei you were summoned to meet your bride today. But, like all things good for you, you're avoiding the sight of her." There was silence.

Eriol must have made a good point because there was a long silence between them. I was ready to leave the opposite direction. I was not my place to hear any further and frankly, I did not want to confirm his hatred for me at all. I needed to slip out unnoticed but it might not have been the greatest timing right now for the Prince instantly snapped his head towards my direction at one sound of my darn heels. I held my breath and kept my back closest to the wall.

"Did you hear that?" I heard the Prince ask Eriol. "Is someone there? Reveal yourself!" He called out. I closed my eyes, praying he won't discover me.

**NORMAL POV**

"Xiao Lang!" Eriol snapped Syaoran's attention back. "Don't change the subject! Do your princely duties and come to training practices and be nice to Sakura-chan. It's hard enough dealing with the _idea _of marrying you." By this time, Sakura was able to sneak out through the glass doors that led to the outside. "And change your outfit, it looks horrid on you. It makes you seem like you _actually _go to practice!" Eriol added before ascending back upstairs. Syaoran snuffed at Eriol's last comment. He subconsciously stripped his jacket off, only because it was getting hot. He dropped it on a chair nearby and once again got distracted thinking about the click he heard of what seemed like a woman's heels. He dimly thought that there was no way any maid would be at this side of the castle. Besides, they were all in the other side, preparing for the Welcoming Ball in a couple of days. He decided to walk towards that dark hallway, out of curiosity.

Sakura had found herself at the castle's garden. The garden was breath-taking. A tear rolled down her cheek, it reminded her of her late mother who also loved gardens very much.

"A tissue, miss?" A voice softly asked behind her. She turned around and it was a boy with a handkerchief in his hand, offering it to her. She was frightened for a moment thinking he was the angry Prince who had finally discovered her. "It seems this garden has stolen a tear from a beautiful lady or could it be something else has?" She smiled, relieved she wasn't going to be punished for eavesdropping.

"Thank you." She politely said as she accepted the handkerchief. "It's just this garden is so beautiful. It reminds me of home."

"And where is this home you speak of?"

"Here from now on." She said half-heartedly with a chuckle. This took Syaoran by surprise.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch what you said."

"Standing right before you," She stood up straighter. "I am the new residence of the castle." She smiled in disbelief to her own words. She walked deeper into the garden as Syaoran trailed along wanting to hear more. "I am to be married in two weeks to a prince whom I haven't met yet, not even a picture I have seen of him."

"Do you know his name?" She thought about it for a moment.

"Xiao Lang Li. I believe." Syaoran was relieved. He had already caught on that it was him she was referring to. "Rumor has it, that he's quite the fellow." She briefly turned around to give him a indescribably cute face as she continued. "Same age. possibly taller. Very skilled. Handsome, I've heard." He was being glorified right in front of him and he was loving it. Then came the other side. "But he's a known womanizer. He breaks women's hearts," she made the hand motion as if she was breaking a twig. Syaoran widened his eyes in shock, half to play along and half taken aback about her seriousness in her storytelling. "and moves on as if nothing has happened. He's a cold prince, undoubtedly." She continued. "and now, it's official. He hates me." She sighed.

"Now, how can you be so sure?" he rose an eyebrow. "You haven't even metthe guy?" _'...Technically.' _His added in his thoughts.

"I don't need to confirm it even more by being face-to-face with him. I already know, I may very well be the one who takes all his fun away! Cruel fun, but his fun nonetheless." She looked at him with sincere eyes. She gave a quick, defeated smile and confessed, "Look at me, rambling on to a stranger." Offering out her hand, she says "I'm Sakura, by the way."

He took her soft hand onto his.

"Hi, Sakura. I'm…."

**Author's Note:** My first actually long chapter ONE! hehe. Thanks for reading! Please review. It'll help me write the next chapter! Thanks again!

_UPDATE!_As of 06/12/2010, I have updated this chapter because I doubt anyone remembers the original (messy, make-no-sense) storyline from three years ago. GOMENASAI! Once again, I went on hiatus. -_-; This time around, I will update as much as possible until my mind in drained of all creative thoughts.


	2. In the Matter of Just Believing

**DISCLAIMER: **I DO NOT OWN CCS NOR DO I HAVE THE SKILLS TO DRAW, MUCH LESS STICK FIGURES. I'LL '_STICK_' TO WRITING. XP

"…_I'm Sakura by the way." She offered out a hand._

_He took her soft hand onto his._

"_Hi, Sakura. I'm…."_

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**Chapter 2****:** In the Matter of Just Believing

"…I'm… You can call me Syaoran." Her face lite up.

"It's nice to meet you, Syaoran-kun. Thanks for listening to me for who knows how long." She giggled. "What do you do here, Syaoran-kun?" She asked curiously.

_'She thinks… I'm a hired help_.' He smiled dimly with a sweat drop. "Uh…" _'Maybe it's the uniform I'm wearing. I was supposed to be at practice today but I decided to ditch_.' "Let's just say I'm around. No peculiar job. Nothing worthy of mentioning." Oh, he's slick. As the prince of the castle, he has been doing nothing lately, except maybe bringing a girl or two once and awhile.

"Oh, so I'm not detaining you from anything, right?" An eyebrow rose.

"No, not at all!" She smiled in relieve and continued to walk through the garden.

"So, how long have you lived here in the castle?" She was rather more curious than she usually is. It was because she was intrigued by the man standing next to her who had possibly gotten her all figured out by the way he looks at her. She would openly discuss her personal life if there was an ear willing to listen. It was a breath of fresh air for her knowing she wouldn't be completely lonely in this castle. She met a new friend within 20 minutes stepping into the castle. She was sure to tell Tomoyo and Eriol, the next time she sees them, that she was making progress. She praised herself.

"All my life for as long as I can remember." He couldn't help looking at her. He had to break his trance on her before she notices. Uh-oh, she's turning to look at him. He looks away and sees her smile in the corner of his eye. "You said this is your first day, am I correct?" She nodded in agreement. "Allow me to show you a secret place no one has yet to discover since I've been here." He gave her a mischievous smile.

"How can it stay a secret place if you show me?"

"Well, it'll just be a secret between you and me, won't it?" She eyed him, suspiciously.

"Well, mister. You make it sound as if this secret place of yours isn't a place we should be going to, in the first place." She slowly skipped away from him, as if to blow off his suggestion.

"Why, Miss Sakura. Could it be possible that you are _scared_?" He was challenging her! Oh, bring it on.

"Of course I am!" '_Did I just admit I was scared? Quick! Think of something to say, Sakura!_'

"What makes you think I should trust someone like you? Obviously, you're up to no good." '_Good one.' _She looked away as she gave herself a victory smile. Syaoran caught this, only to chuckling silently at her childish run-around.

"Ok. Suit yourself." He walked away, slowly. '_3…2….'_

"Wait!" He smiled to himself. He slowly turned around to face her with a curious face.

"Yes?" He knew no one could refuse to go along to a secret place. Once it becomes a secret, everyone wants to know.

"Are you really going to leave me all alone here? This is my first day and I know not one soul to talk to, in my confinement here." She pouted. Hopefully, this'll get him to bring her along.

"But you just said, you didn't want to go with an untrustworthy, slum-bag like myself." He put his hands behind his back and watched to observe her next move.

"Untrustworthy, by your smiles, yes. But slum-bag? I said no such thing!" She walked closer to him and looked up at him. "Don't put words into my mouth that I haven't said… yet." She giggled as she walked pass him. He smiled to himself and turned once again to face her direction.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"To _our_ secret place, is it not?" She looked at him as if that conversation two seconds ago had not happened. "Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to show me where it is?" She smiled as he chuckled in amazement. They continued their walk as he led her to the place. Along the way, he pointed a couple things she may have been interested in. To his dismay, she was very interested. Most other girls would just say 'oh how cute!' or smile dumbly. But she had asked a lot of questions about everything he brought up. Most of the time, she'd be totally absorbed with every detail.

"Here it is. My secret place." He breathed in and then out in relief. He loved this place more than any other place in the castle. "This is where I get away from everything and just relax."

She was astounded by the amount of beauty that was held at one place. It was like an oasis with the most gorgeous naturally-grown garden surrounding it. The cherry blossom tree was the one that took her breath away. She had never known a place like this.

"Amazing right?" He observed her obvious state of amazement.

"Amazing? It's more than amazing! It's indescribably amazing!" Nice choice of words. "How did you find a place like this?"

"I don't know really. I just came to it or it came to me, one day. Ever since then, I go here to cool off my head, when I get into an argument or something along those lines. Like I said before, no one knows of this place except for you and me now." He looked at her with curiosity. She held her pinky up in the air.

"I promise I'll keep this place a secret!" She stood there waiting for him to pinky swear. He chuckled. "Come on, pinky swear!"

"It's ok. I trust you." He refused to be as childish as to pink swear.

"Oh come on. Pinky swears are a sure thing! It's hard to break a promise when you know you just pink swore." He rolled his eyes and looked at her as she continued. "Syao-kun, pinky swear already!" She still held her pinky up, like an idiot. A cute idiot, he thought.

"Ok, ok! Pinky swear." He finally caved in, he couldn't help but to fall for her childish acts. She smiled in her victory.

"And now, seal it with a thumb!" She approached closer concentrating as pressed their thumbs together. She heard him chuckling, hardily. "Now, it's officially our…little …secret." She brought it down to a whisper because when she looked up at him, she was now inches away from his face. Their eyes connected. He still had her hand near his heart. A long comfortable silence was what stood between them. Syaoran was concentrated on her full pink lips. He was leaning in and she was too. Both their eyes were half-opened, half-wanting this to happen.

Then a noise came from the bushes. This made Sakura jump a little and both looked at the direction of the moving bush. A bird flow out and both of them sighed in relief. They were still a couple of inches away. Sakura didn't have the courage to look up. She sighed again.

"I don't think this is right." She backed away from Syaoran. "I'm getting married in two weeks. I don't know the guy but he deserves to not be lied to." She was sincere in her words.

'_At least, she'll be a faithful wife. Beautiful and faithful.'_ He thought to himself, smiling. At that moment, he decided he was going to test her.

"But if you don't know the guy, how do you know he won't do the same thing? Like you said, he's known to be a womanizer." He was half-expecting her to say something totally irrational.

"That'd be awfully sad now, wouldn't it? A princess falling in love with her prince while he's somewhere falling in love with someone else." She softly said with a tone of foreshadowing despair as she leaned to sit on a big boulder.

"What does love have to do with any of this?" Syaoran was a strong nonbeliever of love.

"Nothing at all, if you look at it from the outside. It's just that love can appear when you least expect it, whether you wanted it or not. A girl like me wishes for love and never gets it, truly and completely. But I still have hope." She made a weird face, as if trying not to reveal too much of her heart. Then, continued. "And besides, I may never know, I may actually enjoy the company of the prince, despite his supposedly cold exterior." She smiled. Syaoran has never met a girl who didn't judge him negatively right away. Something was different about this girl, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Why do you put so much faith in person you've never met before? Do you always do this?" He was enchanted by her and her optimistic words.

"I'm not sure really. Why do I feel like I've been told that before?" She put his fingers to her chin and thought about it, trying to trace back to the last person who asked that exact same question. He laughed.

"Don't think too much of it." She broke out of her train of thoughts and blushed at the next time he says, "It's just amazing that people like you still exist at times like this." He smiled as she tried hiding her blushing face. Good thing she wasn't looking at him at the time. He has never smiled this much in his entire life. If his parents saw him like this, they'd think something was up, and not in a good way. Frankly, smiling made his cheeks hurt.

"Uh… It's getting late. We should be heading back." She was getting all jittery. He nodded in silence and led her out of the beautiful oasis and back to the castle grounds. "I'm supposed to meet the prince and the Royal Family today. Do you know where the Grand Library is?" His eyes widened. The Li family never uses the Grand Library for anything; it holds precious books not even he has touched before. In occasions like this, they'd usually use the Main Living Area.

"Yea, I'll show you." About fifteen minutes later, they had arrived right back at the garden. "The Grand Library is through those doors. If you continue straight, there are these big double-doors with engraved book shelves. It isn't really hard to miss."

"Ok," Sakura said, trying to memorize his directions he gave her. "Thank you for your company and showing me _our_ _secret place_," she whispered the last part. "It was really fun." She smiled.

"No problem. It was my pleasure." He smiled back. '_Oh God, if my parents saw me now… or worse! ERIOL!...' _"Well, I must take my departure as well. I am needed elsewhere. I'll see you soon, Sakura-chan." With that, he left the other direction.

"It was…nice meeting… you." She softly said after he had already left, staring at the direction where his figure disappeared towards. After a second, she turned to enter the big castle. '_Hopefully, I don't get lost in here.' _She looked around at the magnificent designs in the wall. Every piece of furniture matched with each other. It looked antique but modern at the same time.

"Princess Sakura." A voice called out to her that caused her to jump. "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to frighten you." It was a kind, old butler.

"It's quite alright..?"

"My name is Wei, Princess. I'm Prince Xiao Lang's butler." He smiled that made her smile. "Have you lost your way?"

"It's nice to meet you, Wei. Um… well… I was given directions from a kind young man earlier." Then she looked around. "But now, it does seem like I've lost my way again. I'm heading towards Grand Library." She laughed nervously at her forgetfulness.

"This way, Princess. I will lead you there."

"Thank you, Wei." She followed him, determined not to get distracted. Before she knew it, they were already there. "Wow. This is way bigger than the one in my father's castle." Wei opened the door and announced Princess Sakura's entrance with a smile at her comment.

She continued to look around until she felt four pairs of eyes staring at her. Then, she quickly apologized and bowed.

"It's quite alright, Princess." The older lady kindly said. This must be the Queen. "We welcome you to the Li castle. I hope you're stay has been pleasant so far." She nodded and smiled. "Good." She smiled at the girl who reminded her of herself so much when she was younger.

"How rude of us, I am Queen Yelen and this is my stubborn husband, King Yian. My niece, Princess Meiling. And I believe you've already met Wei."

"Yes I have. It's nice to meet you all. Thank you for inviting me to your home."

"Don't be silly, child. This is going to be your home soon enough." Queen Yelen's husband said. He stood up. "Let me get a good look at you, Princess." He stood right in front of her and stared her right in the eyes. "What a lovely set of emerald eyes. I've never seen such beautiful eyes before." He heard his wife clear her throat. "Except on my lovely wife's eyes, which are more beautiful golden-brown color." He winked at Sakura and she giggled a little. He stood up straight that eased Sakura.

"It seems my son, Prince Xiao Lang, is late once again." He sighed.

"He is always late, Uncle. You know how he likes to make an entrance." The girl with the long, glossy black hair said. She sighed and opened her eyes which were unusual amber eyes. That color looked so familiar to Sakura. "Don't worry, Princess Sakura. He does this all the time." She smiled to ensure Sakura. "Please sit next to me. And allow us to learn more about you while the Prince delays his presence." Sakura followed orders. They asked questions about her home, what she likes to eat, etc. as she answers them happily.

'_The Li's are so nice. Nothing like what others have said about them.' _She smiled until she heard the doors and Prince Xiao Lang was announced. She slowly turned around.

"Syaoran-kun?" Sakura whispered in confusingly. The four people in the room looked at her in confusion too.

"Prince Xiao Lang, you've already met Princess Sakura?" Queen Yelen asked her son.

"Why, yes Mother." He responded without even looking at his mother. "It is truly hard to miss such a beauty when she enters this castle.." Sakura just continued to look at Syaoran who was giving her the same smile he gave her when she first saw him but much, much more devious. She didn't know what to do or even say.

'_Huh?_' Was all Sakura's brain could register at this time.

**A.N.** hmm…'kay. That's chapter two for you! You have no idea how happy when I was been I found out people_ ACTUALLY_ read my first S&S pairing. I have the motivation to write yet another chapter. Hopefully, you enjoyed the second chapter of this story. So yeah, if you notice a shift in time between then-monarchy and now-technology, please forgive me in advance. Just to let you know, the first chapter was done sometime last year. I revised it yesterday and decided to re-upload it and continue on with the story. But that won't happen again! I'll try to upload chapters constantly. If one review (_INSERTING INTERRUPTION OF SENTENCE:** clapz**. Thanks for my first review! I'll always remember that. Sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter, I couldn't help it again on this chapter.) _gets me going on another chapter, think if YOU made one! See how fast I'll be working on the next chapter! I'm also on one alert AND one favorite on the first day! That is soo cool! Hehe. Thanks to you all again! Until next time…_yo!_

PSS I edited the last two lines. I knew it didn't make sense! Chapter 3 is on its way... :3

PSSS I updated this chapter as of 06/21/2010!


	3. HorseBack Riding Into the Water

**DISCLAIMER: **I DO NOT OWN CCS NOR DO I HAVE THE SKILLS TO DRAW, MUCH LESS STICK FIGURES. I'LL '_STICK_' TO WRITING. XP

"_Syaoran-kun?" Sakura whispered in confusingly. The four people in the room looked at her in confusion too._

"_Prince Xiao Lang, you've already met Princess Sakura?" Queen Yelen asked her son._

"_Why, yes Mother." He responded without even looking at his mother. "It is truly hard to miss such a beauty when she enters this castle.." Sakura just continued to look at Syaoran who was giving her the same smile he gave her when she first saw him._

'_Huh?' Was all Sakura's brain could register at this time._

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**Chapter 3****: **Horse-Back Riding Into the Water

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Can't you accept a compliment? Or are you stunned by my handsomeness- - "Meiling interrupted.

"I knew I should have gotten to Princess Sakura before you! Who would have known you'd swoop to scare your wife-to-be?" Meiling got out of her chair to stand up next to the shocked Sakura. A hint of anger surfaced on Syaoran when he broke out of his stare with Sakura. "Poor Princess Sakura! I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you from this mean, old Prince Wolf and his devilish charms. He's a charmer that prince is. Certainly far away from the fairytale-kind, though." She jokingly stated as she eyed him, warningly.

"Now, Meiling. That is not very princess-like of you to say about your own cousin. And especially, saying it in front of Princess Sakura." Yelen interfered knowing Syaoran would reach his boiling limit soon.

"I like Princess Sakura, Syaoran. Don't you dare hurt her." She spoke down to him. "First and last warning, _Prince_ Xiao Lang." She smiled in a creepy manner.

"She's a big girl. She doesn't need a- - -"

"My dear Xiao, please show Princess Sakura to her room and get her situated." She firmly stated, interrupting Syaoran. He was getting interrupted a lot, lately. She thought about what she just said. "Better yet, you stay here. Meiling, won't you be a dear and show Princess Sakura her room instead?" Meiling nodded. Sakura snapped back into reality.

"Princess?" Meiling touched her shoulder, in concern.

"Oh. Uh… it was a pleasure meeting you, Queen Yelen-san." She bowed to her as Yelen nodded with a smile. Then she faced Yelen's husband. "It was a pleasure meeting you as well, Your Highness." She bowed to him and he did the same as his wife but without the gentle smile. Lastly, she faced Syaoran. She stared at him for a bit before bowing. "It is nice meeting you, Prince Syaoran." He bowed back and stayed the same length in bow as her.

"It's Prince Xiao Lang." He said under his breath, purposely saying it loud enough for her to hear it. Oh, she heard it alright; her eyes were wide from slight shock. He was only three or four inches away from her head before she snapped straight back to look at him. He was smiling!

'_What is up with this guy? He can't possibly be the guy I first met in the gardens_.' Sakura thought to herself before following Meiling out of the room.

"I know what you're thinking." She glanced back at Sakura. "He's a difficult one to understand. Becomes a mystery to lure brainless girls to his every whim and woo. Not saying you're brainless or anything!" She turned around to face and that made Sakura halt in front of Meiling. "It's just that he thinks all women are weak and are just a source of entertainment or childbearing. He's the typical male chauvinistic Piece a- - heh." She smiled, innocently to herself. "I mean… Prince-su?*" She laughed and turned around to continue walking down the hall. (**A/N: **'Prince-su' refers the pronunciation of 'Purinsuプリンス' meaning 'Prince' in Japanese [katakana]. Meiling is trying to cover up before calling Syaoran a piece of poopoo. Hope that clarifies things.)

"Well, here we are." She said, while opening the door. Before she stepped in, she looked down the hall. "Not too far from my room.." She trailed, then looked at the door nearest them. ".. But rather, too close to Syaoran's." She frowned and looked at the side of the door facing the inside room. She smiled. "Good, you have a lock. Handy little devices, prevents, oh let's say, for example, my cousin from sneaky in your room." She laughed. Sakura was getting nervous about Syaoran by the way Meiling was hinting about him.

"Is Prince Xiao Lang that bad, Princess Meiling?" She stared at her, blankly.

"Why no, Princess Sakura. You can call me Meiling. I don't feel like a princess, most of the time, therefore I don't like being addressed as one." She sighed. "I love my dear cousin very much. It's just that he can get very much carried away, in several ways more than one. He shows no remorse, not an ounce of emotion, when he breaks a girl's heart or spirit. Sometimes, I don't know whether it's intentionally or unintentionally. He's done it so much, I'm surprised a mob of broken-hearted girls haven't rioted this castle yet."

"It's because I leave them ALL very satisfied before I don't need them anymore." Syaoran popped out of nowhere, frightening both girls. He made a smirk. "If you're going to talk about me, I suggest you wait until you are within closed doors so I wouldn't happen to just pass by and hear, as I have at this moment." He hadn't stepped in the room yet because he was taught as a gentleman, he is not to step into a lady's room unless given permission. '_Oh, it won't be long before she's begging me to come in.'_ He smiled, making both girls cringe. Meiling marched towards him.

"Well, if you instant!" She said before pushing him slightly back. Syaoran heard the door close and lock. In all his years of marital arts training, he didn't sense that coming. What was getting into him? He sighed.

Inside, Meiling sighed. "Now, what were we talking about?" She merrily walked back towards Sakura. She was going to say something but the door swung wide open and Meiling stopped at her tracks. She side glanced towards the door only to close her eyes and sigh again.

"Stupid contraption. I knew I had to have that lock checked myself." '_Knowing my cousin, he probably got someone to change it for him so he can scare Poor Sakura when she sleeps._' She finally turned her face towards Syaoran with a sweet smile. "Yes, cousin? Is there something you want?" He was full-on glaring at her and her fake stupidity.

"Well, dear cousin." He said, obviously holding back his angry towards her. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for Princess Sakura. Mother sent me to ask if she would accompany me to the Welcoming Ball this Friday." He looked at Sakura. "May I come in?" She nodded, not wanting her words to come out jumbled up. "Thank you." He stepped in. "Well, Princess Sakura?" He looked into her eyes intently as he approached her, expecting her to answer right away. Meiling sighed from back him.

"Well, as you can see, you haven't asked her any proper question for her to answer. Why, you just stated _to me_ that you were going to ask when you actually didn't say it directly to her." She said, bluntly. "And since you _had_ to have consent from Auntie, I guess, I will be the one you consent to about Princess Sakura's decisions." She laughed. "Princess Sakura." She got her attention and shook her head 'no.'

"Meiling! Well, you stay out of this!" He frustratingly yelled back. Meiling worded 'o-kay' with her mouth and waved her hands in front of her before stepping back. "Princess Sakura. Will you do me the honor and accompany me to my cousin's Welcoming Ball this Friday?" Sakura looked at Meiling again. She gave her a reassuring smile, telling Sakura that she was joking about earlier.

"If I have no choice, Prince _Xiao Lang_." She smiled.

'_So, Meiling already rubbed off on her.'_ He thought to himself. He returned her smile."Thank you, Princess Sakura." He kissed her hand. "You have no idea how relieved I am." He smiled making Sakura blush. "I'll see you later tonight." He winked. (_CRINGE_) After he left the room and closed the door, Meiling and Sakura both sighed at the same time. They looked at each other.

"At this rate, we'll both grow shorter by the end of this month!" Meiling jokingly said. Both laughed at the reference to the old superstition about the more you sigh, the more you grow short.

"If you don't mind me asking, but would you like me to help you unpack?" Meiling asked, warm-heartedly.

"If you're not busy?" Meiling shook her head, eagerly. "I'd love to have your company." Sakura smiled making Meiling beam. "Thank you, Meiling." She saw her small set of luggage sitting in the corner of the room.

"Wow, you pack light. Almost as if you can just pack up and leave at any moment." She said with concern.

"Oh." She brushed Meiling's comment as if it were a joke. She began opening her bags. "Well… not to be all spoiled princess here but I kinda wanted to check out the type of outfits here. I also wanted to understand a little about your culture and explore the city since this is my new home from now on." She looked outside the window. Then, she chuckled. "Maybe I'm using that an excuse for shopping." Both girls laughed.

"Did you shop a lot in Japan?"

"Not really. My cousin, Princess Tomoyo, would always make my clothes for me. So, I'd rarely get a chance to go shopping unless it's for fabric."

"Ah! Princess Tomoyo! I forgot you two were related. Her husband, Eriol, is somewhere here, you know?"

"Yea, I saw him earlier but didn't get a chance to talk to him. Is Tomoyo here too?"

"Ah… well, she went to England with her son to visit Eriol's family. Eriol had to stay here for some type of business hoo-ha. But she heard you were coming so I think she's cutting her visit short and is returning in a couple of day before your Welcoming Ball!"

"My Welcoming Ball? I thought it was for somebody else…"

"Of course it's for you, silly. Who else are we to welcome but Princess Sakura?" Sakura laughed.

"You know. Since you allowed me to call you Meiling, you can call me Sakura, instead of Princess. Like you, I don't always feel like a princess." Both stopped what they were doing and smiled at each other for a moment before Meiling nodded and both resumed back to what they were doing. "So, how is she? It seems like I haven't seen much of her, except mail packages of her dresses for me to wear."

"She's fine. Happy, from what I can tell. Three years of marriage and it's still going strong." She said. "It's almost disgusting seeing how much in love they are." She rolled her eyes, remembering how they couldn't get their hands off each other right before Tomoyo had to leave.

"Eriol must miss her terribly..." Sakura thought for a moment. "…And their three-year-old son too! Halu is most adorable!"

"I know, he does takes after our family's mischievous side. My son adores their son. It's really cute"

"You have a son? . . . I would have never guessed. I was surprised when Tomoyo told me she was pregnant with Halu. It was so soon." She listened intently to what Meiling had to say next.

"Yes. I have a son, his name is Tatsuya. He's almost two. You'll meet him and my husband at the ball." She showed Sakura her ring. She gasped and mouthed 'wow' as she approached her to see the ring closely. She giggled as she glanced down at Sakura's innocence. "I love my husband and I'd do anything for him. And because we're princesses, soon-to-be queens, it is our responsibility to continue on with our family's lineage." Her face became glum. "And, in time, the elders will want a grandson from you and Syaoran. I think, you should be mentally prepared for that, Sakura." Sakura let go of Meiling's hand and stood up straight while still looking at the ground, softly holding her stomach, almost as if she was protecting her heart. "I don't want you to get hurt, Sakura. I truly mean that. Please, for the sake of you and future children, give Syaoran your support and in time, he may even give you his heart." Sakura faintly smiled and looked up.

"He is my future husband, after all. I can't _not_ lend him my support. And besides, you and your family have already welcomed me so warmly as if I'm already married to him. I feel quite honored, really."

"Really?" Meiling felt tears building up.

"Hm." Sakura smiled again. "I already feel a part of your family."

"Oh, good! I can't wait until you marry Syaoran, then we'll officially become cousins-in-law!" Sakura giggled, while having a sweat-drop secretly. "Well, Tomoyo should be arriving tomorrow, earlier than expected, actually. I guess, she heard you'd be here soon. She already made dresses for us, can you believe that?"

"It's Tomoyo. What can we expect?" Both girls laughed.

**_. . . . THE NEXT DAY: THREE MORE DAYS UNTIL THE WELCOMING BALL . . . _**

Sakura had wondered off after having tea with Queen Yelen and Meiling. Meiling had to go to a fitting and said she'd be back. Sakura was feeling lonely again. But she managed to preoccupy herself by wandering towards a meadow surrounded by beautiful wildflowers of all colors. This meadow was at the farthest edge of the Li estate.

She began to pick flowers to give to Meiling later and decorate her room with. Little did she know, Syaoran had spotted her from a distance on his horse.

'_What a ditz. She'll get lost at the rate she's wandering off to.' _He was slowly riding towards her. '_But she looks content just picking flowers.'_ He stopped, noticing a swarm of something was approaching the bed of wildflowers. . . A swarm of bees were approaching Sakura! He raced towards Sakura.

"**_Sakura_**!" He yelled, as Sakura looked up at him, approaching her, quite rapidly. Her puzzled look turned into freight within seconds as Syaoran grabbed her hand. She screamed as he lifted her onto the horse in front and facing him.

"Syaoran! What the - - "Sakura yelled but he interrupted her.

"Don't look back!" He warned her, still concentrating the trail in front of him as he picked up more speed. Despite his warning, she already had her eyes glued to what was behind him. Her eyes widen.

"I think…it's already too late for that!" She instantly dug her head into his shoulder, trying to hide her face from what she just saw. She tightened her hold on him and his entire mid to upper body. He groaned inwardly.

_'Great.' _He grunted to himself. Bouncing with the horse's gallop wasn't helping at all. _'Concentrate, Syaoran! This is not the time. . . '_ He glanced down at Sakura who was terrified out of her wits. She made a noise when the horse slightly jumped over a log. She squirmed to find a tighter grip. Syaoran protectively held one arm around her, tightly, while he kept the other holding the reigns of the horse. The bees were still following them, it was as if they were out for vengeance. He wondered why. He finally noticed the flower ring that was collected around Sakura's head. He swiftly took that out of her hair, threw it off to the side, and returned the arm around her.

"Ow!" She said when Syaoran sort of pulled her hair too.

"Stop being a baby!" She stayed quiet, still frightened, but knew he was saving her from a swarm of bee attacks, so she shouldn't be complaining. Ahead, Syaoran saw a lake.

"Hold on tight." Sakura did as she was told as Syaoran took both hands on the reigns. "Y'ah!" He sped faster towards the lake. "I'm going to jump and you're going to hold on tight. Do you understand?" She nodded.

When they were right at the edge of the lake, he said to the horse. "Duck!" And Sakura ducked, he glanced down at Sakura's sudden movement. "Not you, Sakura!" He sighed and rolled his eyes. He quickly lifted Sakura a little higher and jumped off the horse into the lake. Sakura screamed as both of them sunk deeper into the cold water. Both of them jumped back up for air.

He saw the bees still a couple of feet away from them, so he kissed her instinctively. Her eyes widened both from the sudden kiss and him dunking both of them back into the water. Unintentionally, she deepened the kiss once they got into the water. He heard the bees pass over their head within a split-second, but still held the kiss for a couple more seconds and jumped back up with Sakura still in his arms. Both coughing and gasping for air, as if they were deprived of oxygen their entire lives. When Sakura caught up with her breath, she was able to recollect what just happened. They looked at each other. Sakura screamed as she fell out of his grip and into the water again.

When she got up shivering, she heard Syaoran recovering from coughing and laughing at the same time! She glared at him with intensity.

"Well, that was something." He said, continuing to laugh as Sakura's anger built up. He sighed after that good, hardy laugh. He wasn't sure whether he was relieved they survived that life-threatening experience with bees or glad Sakura didn't see what she was doing to him do during the horse-ride towards the lake.

For now, he was relieved for both.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

End of Chapter _Tres_! Haha. I thought this was pretty funny writing these scenes. **_What do you think?_** **REVIEW!**

School's starting soon, so hopefully I continue to write during this crucial time. Besides, procrastination is kicking my butt right about now.

THANKS FOR READING! FIRST-TIME WRITER FOR FANFICS AND I'VE ALREADY BEEN BLESSED WITH GREAT SUPPORTIVE READERS BEHIND ME!

**SPECIAL THANKS** TO ALL READERS THAT READ/REVIEWED MY STORY THUS FAR! Haha.

I had a list of about four reviewers since the last time I posted this chapter and now I thought it'd be unfair and a misleading length of a chapter if I had listed all of my wonderful, wonderful readers who choice to give me a piece of their minds! …Nicely! Haha! =) Thank you again btw. So instead, I would like to inform all of you that as the weird fanfic writer that I once was and still am, I read all your reviews/suggestions, like at least 5 bazillion times, almost embedding it to my brain. O_O But in a good way! Because every comment motivates me to write even more, else I wouldn't have picked this story again after three years. Haha. It took me three years to realize I only had three chapters of this story. LOL to my face! Review, please! xDD


	4. Tiny Tots to Sakura's Rescue!

**DISCLAIMER: **I DO NOT OWN CCS NOR DO I HAVE THE SKILLS TO DRAW, MUCH LESS STICK FIGURES. I'LL '_STICK_' TO WRITING. XP

_When she got up shivering, she heard Syaoran recovering from coughing and laughing at the same time! She glared at him with intensity._

_"Well, that was something." He said, continuing to laugh as Sakura's anger built up. He sighed after that good, hardy laugh. He wasn't sure whether he was relieved they survived that life-threatening experience with bees or glad Sakura didn't see what she was doing to him do during the horse-ride towards the lake._

_For now, he was relieved for both._

("\/") - (") (") - ("\/") - (") (") - ("\/") - (") (")

**Chapter 4****: **Tiny Tots to Sakura's Rescue!

He stared at Sakura's face again, before going on another laughing spree.

"You think this is real funny, don't you?" Sakura yelled while wiping water off her face to continue glaring at him.

"Why, yes. Yes I do!" He teased her. "Your face!... was priceless!" He laughed so hard, his stomach started to hurt.

"You're unbelievable!" She childishly splashed water at him with all her might. "I'm leaving!" She started off towards to the shore where the horse was lounging under the shade, lazily watching them.

"Haha! And where are you off to now? Feel bad for taking those flowers, so you're gonna go to the bee hive and _apologize_?" He laughed, harder. She turned around with her hands on her hips.

"Real mature, Li! As if I'd do that!"

"Yes, you would." He interjected.

'No, I wouldn't! Stop teasing me!" She splashed even more water on him.

"Now, who's the mature one?" Still smiling, he stood up straight while lightly splashed back at her with his finger tips.

"Stop it!" She splashed back, while slowly backing towards the shore.

"You're the one who started it." He splashed again as he shielded his eyes with one arm from Sakura's splashes.

"Well, stopping smiling then! This isn't funnyyy…..!" Sakura tried to yell back but her last splash towards Syaoran caused her to lose balance, leading her butt back down the shallow waters.

She coughed out the water that remained in her mouth from the fall and then rubbed her butt in pain, only to notice silence from Syaoran who within a second after she looked up at him, he burst into sheer laughter. Sakura was fuming, this was so embarrassing. But she couldn't get up because she felt too much sharp pains in her body. Syaoran approached her and stopped right in front of her.

"Here, truce." He said, extending his hand. Sakura glared up at him. She took his hand into hers and before Syaoran could get his guard back up, Sakura pulled him into the water beside her but face first. Now, she was the one to laugh hysterically.

"Now, truce." Sakura turned to her side, opposite of Syaoran as she tried crawling her way up the water.

"You! I'ma get you for this!" Syaoran playfully warned her which was received by a playful scream from Sakura who was trying to rush her movements up. She splashed even more water onto Syaoran's face, to buy her some time, since he hardly could get up. He laughed at her antics, splashed water towards her back. She really thought she could get away but the next thing she knew it, Syaoran wrapped his arms around her waist and yanked her back into the water with him.

"Let go of me!" She tried to hide her laughter with seriousness. She closed her eyes to the side as she was trying to splash water from over her shoulder.

"Like I'd let you escape from me that easily!" He brought one or his arms over Sakura's side to splash water on her face. Once she turned her face abruptly to the other side.

"Stop it!" She warned him, with hints of laughter. She felt an opening out of Syaoran's one arm around her and pushed out, while accidentally elbowing him in the eye. The next thing she heard was an..

"Ugh!" and Syaoran had released her and now had both hands on his eye. She turned to face him with concern. She trailed back to his direction.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to.." She moved her hands on his. "Lemme see." Her head tilted to the side in worry. Syaoran stared down at her with his other eye, momentarily observing how beautiful she looked when she was only looking at him. He let Sakura's hand lead his hands down, allowing for her other hand to gently touch the area around his eye. He flinched, making Sakura move her hand back out. "I'm really sorry, Syaoran." Sakura lowered her head towards her hands, which happened to be still holding his. She subconsciously began playing with his fingers as if trying to figuring out what to say next. "I really didn't mean it…" Syaoran continued to look at her, concerned. It didn't hurt that badly. He's been training in martial arts for years, he easily could have dodged that but thought Sakura was going to fall again so he reached out to her. He was able to get the least impact from it. The rest, he was only pretending.

"Hey," He squeezed her fingers, causing her to look up. "It was an accident. Don't get all bent out of shape because of it." He said, trying to sooth her.

"But…" Sakura was going to say something but she suddenly realized they were dangerously close to one another, almost as close as that time in their secret garden. She immediately looked down to hide her blushing, their hands still intertwined between them.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He saw her shake her head quickly against his chest, her hair grazing his chin, giving him a whiff of her cherry blossom fragrance. He bit his lip before he continued. "I'm telling you, I'm okay now. You don't have to feel guilty anymore." He pretty whispered into her hair. She nodded. "Okay, will you look at me now?" She slowly leaned out to look at him. They were both lost in each other's eyes.

'Wow, he's beautiful.' 'Wow, she's gorgeous.' They thought both at the same time. Their eyes half-closing as they leaned towards ever so slowly, neither one willing to speak in fear of ruining the moment.

"Naaayyyyyy!" they heard the horse say from a distance. They froze and then looked at the horse standing up at the shore. "Nayyy!" He goes again as if to say 'Great, you guys made up. Now, let's get the show on the road and head home…nayyy.' Both of them laughed as the tense in their backs gave way.

"I guess, that's mean we need to head home, huh?" Syaoran said, still chuckling. Sakura nodded in agreement. Then, he began to lead her towards the shore, still holding one of her hands. She smiled to herself, as she noted how warm his hand was.

Before they knew it, they were on the horse, heading home and half a trail away from the castle. Already from a distance, Syaoran noticed a half a dozen carriages lined up in front of the castle doors. The closer they were approaching the castle gates, the more nervous he became.

All eyes were on them. Sakura had already caught on after Syaoran's back became stiff. After taking a quick glance over his shoulder, she buried her head on his back out of embarrassment. She felt one of Syaoran's arms on top of her arms which were wrapped securely around his waist. In a quick panic, Sakura began loosening her grip, thinking Syaoran was uncomfortable by now; but he stopped her and just held her arms in place, as if telling her everything was going to be okay. This made both of them blush until they finally reached the gates. Syaoran retained his composure and cleared his throat as he sees his family cautiously coming closer as if they couldn't believe what they were witnessing.

"Is that Sakura-chan!" A little boy yells out, breaking the silence after Syaoran had stopped and let himself down before helping Sakura down as well. Both were cautiously eyeing everyone.

"Halu! It's _Auntie_ Sakura! You know that." His mother whispered down to him. Then, she was the first to approach the couple while still holding her son's hand, looking only at Sakura. "Sakura-chan!" Her eyes began to water. Her son rolls his eyes at his mother's contradiction. "Sakura-chan, are you okay? What happened to you two?" She hugged Sakura, even though she was soaked.

"Tomoyo-chan! Of course, I'm okay! I can't believe you're already here!" Sakura hugged her tightly. They finally pulled away and wiped their tears away. "Look at you now. You're all soaked because of me." She sniffed. Tomoyo gave her a reassuring smile and then looked down to see Halu giving the same smile. She ruffled the top of his hair and smiled at his cuteness.

"It doesn't matter. When I arrive, some maids witnessed Syaoran galloping away with you in his arms like he was going to take you somewhere secluded and torture you!" Tomoyo cried. Eriol just silently stood there, giving Syaoran the death glare. Syaoran dodged Eriol's glares and immediately brought his attention to the so-called witnesses, the maids cringed.

"Don't blame the maids, Syaoran." Meiling approached them with her son in her arms, apparently oblivious to the whole situation but sensed everyone staring at Syaoran, so he decided to join in and mimic his mom's glare. Syaoran rose an eyebrow and slightly shivered at the uncanny glares from he was getting from both of them. "Why? Syaoran, it's only been less than a week since Sakura's been here and you already.." Sakura was ready to explain everything to everyone but Syaoran's mother interrupts.

"Before we jump into conclusions, I think we should all first get Sakura and Syaoran inside before they catch something. Then, we'll talk." Two other maids brought blankets and wrapped one around Sakura and the other around Syaoran. The Hiiragizawa family trailed behind, Eriol and Tomoyo holding their son's hand on each side.

"What did Grandma Yelan mean by that, mommy?" Halu asked as his parents both looked at him as they were walking.

"Mean by what?"

"'Catch something'? Is it …cuddies?" He looked up at his parents with such triumph at figuring out the answer to his own question. His parents laughed.

"Honey, it's _exactly_ that." Tomoyo answered playfully eyeing Eriol who was still chuckling.

"Yuck!" With this discovery, Halu ending up making a face.

"Now, that you two are all clean and dried, explain yourself." Queen Yelan only looking at Syaoran who dared to look her in the eye as Sakura was concentrated on her hands that was tensed on her lap. Syaoran was fuming and was not willing to say anything about the accusations amongst them. Sakura began to build courage and finally spoke.

"It was all my fault, Queen Yelan." She began feeling blood rush to her face. "I was picking flowers in the meadow…and bees started coming but I didn't see them… but Syaoran did!" She was getting a little into the story and continued making weird hand gestures. "So, he picked me up and tried to take us away from the bees but they kept following us till we got to the lake and we HAD to jump in else they'd catch us!" Sakura was getting out of breath.

"The bees, you mean?" Queen Yelan questioned with a similar raised eyebrow as everybody else in the room, including Syaoran.

"Yes! Yes!" She was beginning to believe they believed her. "So that's why we were soaking wet and then…" Sakura stopped when she had a flashback of the time Syaoran kissed her into the water. She blushed, deeply. Syaoran must have a caught on because he continued on for her.

"And then… we had to come home quickly, else we'd both end up getting sick." He carefully said while watching Sakura. Then, he turned to his parents. "As unbelievable as that may have sounded, especially coming from Sakura, it's the truth." He said. His parents were taken aback, either because their son, for the first time in his life, sounded sincere or that he referred to his wife-to-be by her first name.

"Well," Syaoran's father broke the silence as he walked towards the window, looking outside. "That would be misfortunate if the two of you were to get ill, right before the Welcoming Party. We were planing to announce your engagement then as well." Yian Li said, eyeing Syaoran and Sakura, who both snapped their heads towards his direction in shock.

"What?" Syaoran said in disbelief.

"So soon?" Sakura asked with the same disbelief.

"Well, yes." Li Yian simply stated. "You two have obviously already gotten to know one another these past few days. And you're going to get married eventually, so it wouldn't matter when you announce it anyways. It'll definitely save us the trouble of throwing another ball just to say what you could have easily said at the Welcoming Ball."

"But you said this Ball was only to welcome Princess Sakura and bring the peace between China and Japan. You didn't mention anything about announcing my marriage to her!" Sakura flinched when Syaoran said that as he was building up his angry. He didn't know why he was angry, it was just the tone of his father's voice that hinted something was up.

'_Oh, so it's back to 'Princess' Sakura, huh?' _The King thought to himself before replying. "Like I said, it'll save some time. Besides, our sweet Sakura's father will be attending and he thought it was a brilliant idea. It's not like your soon-to-be-marriage is a secret or anything. It was decided at birth, we just forgot to tell you sooner." He added in a carefree tone. The Queen just smiled while trying to hide her chuckles. This hadn't gone unnoticed by Syaoran.

Sakura had a sweat drop and closed her eyes with a disbelieved smile. Her father was exactly the same when he told her, her life was set in stone since she was born, so carefree and forgetful. Her stomach suddenly felt queasy.

"Sakura, my dear." The Queen broke her train of thought. "Are you alright? You don't look so well." She held a concern face with eyeing for her son's reaction. Syaoran was still trying to maintain his angry at his parents but at the same time, resisted the urge to check on Sakura who sat beside him.

"I'm fine, My Queen." She said, holding her stomach and putting a hand on her mouth. "I think, I just need to rest right now. May I be dismissed?"

"Yes, of course. We can finish this conversation with Syaoran while you rest." The Queen stood up to help Sakura get on her feet. Just as Sakura was getting up, Tomoyo walked in with Halu who was sipping from his sippy cup.

"Auntie Sakura!" Halu happily ran from his mother to Sakura with the sippy cup still in his hand. "Auntie Sakura, are you okay?" He asked her while bringing his free hand to hold hers. Syaoran saw this and felt an odd tinge of jealousy.

"I'm fine, Halu-chan. I just feel a little sleepy, is all." She smiled while giving Halu's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Here then! Have some milk! It'll help you sleep better. Mommy always gives me a glass of milk before bedtime!" Halu cheerfully said while holding his sippy cup up to Sakura.

"Oh, Halu-chan! You're the cutest ever!" She ruffled up his hair, he smiled. "I'm fine, really. Why don't we go upstairs to my room and you can show your awesome reading skills before I go to bed?" Sakura asked, knowing how much Halu loves to read lately. Halu jumped with joy.

"Okay! I'll read you a bedtime story then!" Halu held onto Sakura's hand while happily leading her out the door. Tomoyo smiled as she trailed behind, listening to Halu trying to think which books he brought with him from England. "…I know, Beauty and the Beast!" was the last thing the Li's heard from the happy-go-lucky Halu before the door was gently closed.

"Well, son. I'm guessing you didn't come home as you quickly as you hoped. Sakura seems to be coming down with something." Yian Li said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"She said she was fine." He retorted back. His parents sighed at their son's lack of maturity.

Half an hour later... Syaoran just finished his conversation with his parents. And his father's words continued to bother him.

_-Flashback-_

"_Son, we need to announce this union between us and Japan soon or someone else will try to persuade the emperor otherwise and have Sakura marry into another country's royal families. I know, this sounds heartless but cannot afford to risk any more chances with the rest of the world being on edge. Emperor Kinomoto is a very generous man with a lot of connections. And most of all, he loves his daughter very much. So, if he so much hears a word of this union breaking, he will bring Sakura back to Japan and sever all ties with us, completely." He paused and then looked at his wife, lovingly. "And besides, Sakura is a lovely young lady. She would make an even lovelier addition to the family." His wife nodded. "She fits in quite perfectly. Don't you think?" _

_-End of Flashback-_

How would he know? He thought to himself. Like he cares whether Sakura fits in here or not. All he cared about was his freedom being taken away and being pushed into a lifestyle of he didn't want. This marriage will only solidify his position as the next King of China. He barely could run his own life, what with his parents telling him what to do all the time. How could they expect him to run a whole country? He didn't want to think about it anymore as he was heading towards his room.

Suddenly, in front of him, he noticed light from a half-opened door. It was Sakura's room. He subconsciously walked towards her door and peeked to see if anyone was in the room. Then, he saw Sakura, sitting on the bed with her back facing the door. She couldn't see him but for some reason, he froze. He watched as she patted her neck with a damp cloth and loosening her nightgown. Then, a split-second later, she began to unbuttoning something in front of her and pulled her nightgown over her head. All that was left was a thinner, much more revealing nightgown. He gulped as she continued to pat her neck and started to reach over her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" A tiny voice asked causing Syaoran to jump and skip a heartbeat or two.

"Nothing!" He heavily breathed out, finally seeing the tiny little runt who surprised him. He noticed Halu holding a tray with a cup of tea on it. "And besides, what's it got to do with you, pipsqueak?" He defended himself.

"You're blocking my way." Halu looked at Syaoran with annoyance. Halu took a deep breath in before bellowing out: "Mommy! Uncle's peekkk-"

"Be quiet! You're being too loud!" Syaoran put a hand over Halu's mouth before he could finish his sentence. "I'm leaving already..geez." He let go of Halu and stood up straight. Halu flashed Syaoran that infamous Hiiragizawa victory smirk. Syaoran's eye twitched before he turned his heels in disgust and headed towards his room. '_Never trust a Hiiragizawa…' _He angrily thought as he slammed his door.

"Princes." Halu stood there shaking his head before he walked into the room to deliver Sakura her tea.

**A/N: **End chappy-ta four! Wooh!~ You know, I see these cute dialogues that other authors write that are between themselves and characters and I thought to myself, I should try one too! So, here goes a dialogue with me and Halu, concerning his relationship with Syaoran…

[Begin Dialogue.]

**Me:** Halu, why don't you like Syaoran-kun so much?

**Halu:** Because he's the _enemy_! *_says with conviction_*

**Me:** _Enemy_?... O_o

**Halu:** Yea, he's trying to hurt Sakura-chan! …and and he's a pervert too! D:

**Me: **…O.O… Halu, do you even know the meaning of '_pervert'_?

**Halu: ***_thinks about it_*No, but my mommy and daddy always calls him that when they talk about how he wants to steal Sakura-chan's pants! And I don't even think she wears pants!

**Me: ***_sweat drop_* …Such innocence, I have got to remember you're still 4. -_-;;

**Halu: **Four and a half! *_says with glee_*

[End Dialogue.]

PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you! ^_^


	5. Her Prince For A Day

"_You're blocking my way." Halu looked at Syaoran with annoyance. Halu took a deep breath in before bellowing out: "Mommy! Uncle's peekkk-"_

"_Be quiet! You're being too loud!" Syaoran put a hand over Halu's mouth before he could finish his sentence. "I'm leaving already..geez." He let go of Halu and stood up straight. Halu flashed Syaoran that infamous Hiiragizawa victory smirk. Syaoran's eye twitched before he turned his heels in disgust and headed towards his room. 'Never trust a Hiiragizawa…' He angrily thought as he slammed his door._

"_Princes." Halu stood there shaking his head before he walked into the room to deliver Sakura her tea._

("\/") - (") (") - ("\/") - (") (") - ("\/") - (") (")

**Chapter 5****: **Her Prince For A Day

"Who were you talking to, honey?" Tomoyo asked as she spotted Halu walking in the room. She was unpacking some of the dressed she made for Sakura.

"Prince Doofus." Replied the nonchalant four-year-old. Sakura laughed and turned to face Halu who handed her the cup of tea. She thanked him and he beamed.

"Halu! That's not nice. Where did you hear that from?" Tomoyo stopped what she was unpacking and set the clothes on the bed to look at Halu.

"Daddy said it to sensei when someone didn't go to practice three days in a row." He admitted with a curious face. Tomoyo sighed, mentally talking to have a talk with her husband later.

"Well, don't go repeating what your daddy says. You should know by now, daddy isn't always careful with his words around you." She looked at him, sternly.

"I know!" Halu responded, awfully too happy. Sakura laughed again as she reached out for Halu. He gladly obliged and crawled up the bed to sit on Sakura's lap. She hugged him and rested her chin gently on top of his head after he reached out for his Beauty and the Beast storybook.

"Well, it's nice to hear you laughing again, Sakura. You haven't laughed, not even once since we got here." Tomoyo stated. Halu looked up to Sakura and nodded in agreement. Sakura gave a weak and defeated smile as she tried to stay distracted by Halu flipping through the pages of his book.

Tomoyo sensed Sakura wasn't ready to talk about it so she changed the subject.

"Anyways, how about this dress, for your _engagement_ party?" Tomoyo held up a beautiful dress while holding an armful of other dresses. "If you don't like this, I've got lots more where this comes from." She smiled deviously. Halu held in a chuckle as he felt Sakura hold onto him a little more tightly.

After enduring another one hour of Tomoyo describing how each dress will accentuate Sakura, Halu was falling asleep, a cue that Tomoyo had to bring him to their own room and let Sakura rest, which was why she went to her room in the first place. Sakura knew Tomoyo was just so excited after long months of not seeing each other.

She handed Halu over to Tomoyo and then kissed Tomoyo in the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good night" She smiled as Tomoyo bid her good night as well. And with that, Tomoyo and the sleepy Halu left Sakura all alone in her room. She started turning off the lights as she walked over to her bed. She crawled to the other side to turn off the last light on her nightstand. Suddenly surrounded by darkness, Sakura plopped down to her bed, arms stretched on each side of her. She closed her eyes to adjust to the dark and thought about the events that had occurred since she arrived here. Then, out of the blue, she felt a sharp pain in her head. She rubbed temples, telling herself the headache will pass with some rest; it had been a long and eventful day, today. So, when her headache finally subsided, she rolled over to her side, buried her face on the pillow and finally fell asleep.

It was 4:45 AM, Syaoran couldn't sleep at all. His training wasn't until 6 and he ruffled his hair in frustration, wondering why he suddenly had the urge to actually go to practice today. It must be because he couldn't get Sakura out of his head last night. What was wrong with him? He hasn't felt like his usual self lately, noticing it is always the strongest when he's around Sakura. From some odd reason, he always feels like he should be his best around her, not satisfied until she laughs or flashes her beautiful smile… He shook his head, finding himself in front of the mirror. He blankly stares at himself. Then, he suddenly hears moaning from the other side of the wall. It's Sakura's room? He got worried, recognizing that wasn't a good moaning at all, he'd know. With that, he grabbed the nearest sweatpants and a white tee.

"Sakura?" He cracked her door open and cautiously walking in, hearing Sakura's moans get louder. He closed the door gently and rushed to her side. "Sakura! Are you alright?" He examined her current state. She was tossing and turning, drenched in sweat and displayed a pained face. She finally turned to him at the sound of his voice.

"Otou-san…" She whispered, looking directly at him. Syaoran realized she was starting to talk in Japanese and had mistaken him for her father. "Otou-san, sumimasen…. My head hurts… it hurts…" She cried in Japanese, grabbing one of his hands with both of hers and bringing him closer to her.

"Shh… it's okay, Sakura." He responded back in Japanese, thankful he paid attention in his Japanese lessons. He gently stroked her hair out of her face, trying to sooth her. "I'm right here." She silently cried into his chest. Once her cried turned into sniffles, Syaoran spoke again.

"Sakura, I'm gonna call the doctor, okay? You're sick and I want you to get better." She faintly nodded. Syaoran looked at her, not wanting to leave her for she was clinging to his hand in desperation. Then, Syaoran heard the door click open as one of the maids tried to greet Sakura but shocked to see Syaoran there.

"QUICK! Wake up the doctor! Sakura's sick!" He yelled towards them, as the sleepy, second maid bumped into the first, shocked maid and now completely awake. "HURRY!" both maids dashed out the door. He looked back to Sakura, glad that the maids came in at the time they did.

Five minutes later, the royal doctor arrived with his medical bag. He stopped when Syaorn turn to look at him.

"Uncle…" Syaoran whispered to the doctor who stared into Syaoran's frantic expression and went straight to examine Sakura. He was again taken aback when he saw Syaoran holding Sakura's hand, tightly. But then, he went back to listening to his stethoscope to hear Sakura's heartbeat. After several more minutes, he diagnosed Sakura's illness as a high fever and potential pneumonia.

"You say she was in the water for a long time yesterday right? Good thing you caught this early on, Syaoran. It could have been severe case of pneumonia." He got up, explaining the possible cause of climate changes and being exposed to water for too long. "Princess Sakura needs a change of clothes," he told the maids who hurried to prepare new sleepwear for the Princess. "And Syaoran, make sure she takes two of these for now and I'll be back in a couple of hours to give her new medicine and check up on her again." He handed Syaoran a bottom of tablets and patted his nephew's shoulder.

Syaoran heard the door click close once his uncle left the room. Syaoran sighed in relief, knowing everything will turn out okay.

Syaoran then looked up to see the maids who were carrying Sakura's new change of clothes. They had suspicious looks in their faces when they looked between Syaoran's face and his hands holding Sakura's. Syaoran tried to let go but Sakura didn't budge.

"She won't let go! I swear!" He said, desperately tried to explain himself.

"Well, alright, Young Master." The older maid set Sakura's clothes to the side of the bed. She began unbuttoning her but stopped and cleared her throat to break Syaoran's wandering gaze.

"I'm not looking, geez!" He covered his eyes with his free hand and buried his head on the bed, not looking. The maids smirked at each other and continued changing Sakura.

"Young Master, we really need you two to let go." Syaoran finally looked to see Sakura's old nightgown all piled under her arms while her new one covering the rest of her body. He slightly got up to hover over Sakura's face, shortly eyeing the maids who were watching, intently.

"Hey, Sakura," Syaoran began speaking in Japanese, knowing the maids are listening in. "Let go of my hand for a quick second. I'm still here, okay?" He stroked her hair as she eased her grip on his hand. The maids quickly slipped the rest of her old nightgown out and the rest of her new one on. Sakura's hands went back to Syaoran's. "I'll right here, Sakura." Sakura smiled and drifted further into sleep. The maids watched as smiles rose from their lips again, from seeing such a rare, affectionate Prince.

Syaoran went the maids' eyes on him and looked at them. The maids' smiles were wiped away, immediately.

"Could you two go make something for Princess Sakura? She'll probably rest some more, so disturb her until breakfast, okay?" The maids mindlessly nodded, never able to recall a time Prince Syaoran ever gave such a considerate command. Syaoran continued giving them instructions not to wake anyone up until later, when he'd personally inform them himself. "You may leave now." The maids looked at each other and bowed. As soon as they left, he looked at Sakura's clock, it was almost 5:30AM. He wasn't willing to go to practice anymore. So, instead, he ignored the thoughts of going to practice and watched Sakura's even breaths as she slept. He wondered what she could be dreaming about with such a peaceful face.

Since he wasn't going anywhere, he decided to crawl to the edge of Sakura's bed without letting their hands go. When he carefully reached his destination, he put his back against her headboard. He was relieved to find a comfortable position without waking Sakura up. He closed his eyes and rested his head back. Then, he felt Sakura shuffle in her sleep. He looked to see Sakura had moved closer to him. Syaoran blushed as his heart beat faster.

'_I don't blush! What the heck!...' _He mentally yelled at himself as he looked away, still blushing intensely. He bent his knee closer to his body so he could rest his elbow on it. Then, he put his fist on his mouth, trying to sustain his blush.

He heard Sakura sigh in her sleep as she brought their hands closer to her chest and smiled. This made Syaoran smile too, feeling the comfortable warmth their hands were producing together. He rested his arm straight on his knee and leaned his head against the headboard again. He figured to catch some rest while he can, seeing how it's still morning and he's already exhausted again. Before drifting off to sleep, Syaoran stared at Sakura's sleeping form and wondered '_Has her hair always been that long?...' _He closed his eyes, dreaming of Sakura's long auburn hair.

Queen Yelan walked into the kitchen, ready to check with the chef about the menu for Welcoming Ball in two days. Then, she saw Syaoran and Sakura's maids all huddled together, concerned and fearful, trying to prepare something quickly.

"What are you two doing?" She questioned them, as the startled maids turned around and quickly bowed to the Queen.

"Umm…well… My Queen, we're preparing a meal for Princess Sakura… Young Mistress is ill." The Queen shocked at one of the maid's revelations.

"Why didn't you inform us immediately? We could have called the royal doctor." The maids looked down.

"Young master said not to disturb you because you were still asleep, Your Highness." The other maid replied.

"Young Master?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Your Highness. And young master already had us immediately wake up the royal doctor as soon as we walked in the door. The royal doctor checked her and said it was a high fever that was probably due to the climate change from her recent travels to come here but the fever has already gone down. Young master is with her, as we speak." The older maid explained. "He said not to disturb her unless we have her meals or medicines prepared for her."

"You're telling me, Prince Syaoran, who hardly even tends to himself, is upstairs tending to an ill Princess Sakura?" The maids nodded at the same time. "My son?" She annunciated for clarification. The maids nodded again in the same astonishment as her. The Queen continued to briefly look away in contemplation. "My son, huh..." The maids cautiously looked up.

"Well," the maids shot their heads back down as soon as the Queen looked back at their direction. "I guess there's not too much to worry about. I'll check on them, a bit later. Thank you for telling me." She said, seriously. "As you were." She waved her hands and the maids scurried back to the stove. They looked over their shoulders to watch the Queen walked happily away, almost as if she was dancing.

"My son! Taking care of Princess Sakura!" The Queen sang and laughed as she disappeared to the next room. The maids looked at each other and giggled to themselves, knowing exactly why the Queen was suddenly chipper this fine and bright morning.

Sakura woke up with a massive headache and groaned as she tried to open her eyes. She sensed she had gotten sick in the middle of the night and realized that dream she had. She dreamt that a blurred vision of her father was in the room but he felt younger. And he kept stroking her hair and telling everything would be okay. She smiled but then broke her train of thoughts when she realized she was holding something awfully warm. She looked down to see a hand and gasped while loosening her grip. The arm attached to the hand had stirred at her sudden motions and she followed the arm up to the face of its owner. It was a sleeping Syaoran!

What was he doing in her room? She thought. Was he the one she dreamt about in her sleep and not her father? Her head was spinning. She looked back at Syaoran, wondering how he could have possibly known she had gotten ill. She suddenly felt appreciative knowing Syaoran still stayed when she subconsciously held onto his hand, what she presumed, had been all night. So, the Prince wasn't as cold-hearted as he was rumored to be. She propped herself half up and steadied herself with an elbow on the bed as she observed Syaoran's sleeping form once again.

She blushed and turned away after noticing Syaoran in his sleepwear. He looked like a normal guy in those green sweatpants and white tee that outlined his very shaped physique. Yet his aura was still that of a Prince, handsome and charming. '_Why isn't he like this when we're both wake?'_ Sakura thought. Her gaze fell to the hand that she was still holding. She slid back down to her resting position, covered herself with her blanket up to her shoulders and started tracing Syaoran's fingers. Concentrated, she felt Syaoran gently squeeze her hand; looking up, Syaoran still was asleep. She silently snickered to herself and continued where she left off. She didn't know what she was doing and why she was doing it but she wanted to analyze as much of his hand as possible, the hand that kept her warm in her sleep.

Syaoran's hand started moving, signaling he was waking up. Sakura shot a quick glance up and shut her eyes tightly. Trying to appear asleep, Sakura finally hears Syaoran yawn as he stretched.

"I know you're awake, Sakura." Sakura flinched, and without even looking. She knew he was staring down at her. She smiled then opened her eyes to give Syaoran a guilty giggle. He chuckled.

"Good morning, Syaoran." She murmured with a tiny smile.

"Good morning, Sakura." He shifted to face her. "How are you feeling?"

"Cold." Sakura blurted out making Syaoran laugh as he adjusted the blanket to cover her body.

"You scared me this morning when I heard you moaning in pain. Apparently, you had a fever." He slid under the covers to lay right beside her. Ignoring Sakura's surprised face, he placed the back of his hand against Sakura's forehead to check her temperature. "At least, your fever went down." He flashed her down a reassuring smile before pulling the stiff girl into his strong arms.

"Now, let's go back to sleep. It's not even 7 yet." He relaxed his chin on top of her head and comfortably tightened his hold on her. She blushed at the warmth that his body was giving and at the fact she was so close to him that she could hear his steady heartbeat.

"Syao-Syaoran. What are you doing?" She nervously asked. How could she sleep now when she's fully awake?

"Keeping you warm, you said you were cold, didn't you?" Sakura mentally slapped herself for speaking without thinking first.

"Syaoran, I don't think this is righhh—" She tried pushing him away but it was no use.

"Stop fusing and relax. I'm just holding you." He brought her back close to him. He smiled in victory at feeling her submission. "I promise I'll be gentleman. Scout's honor." He playfully added.

"Are you even a scout?" She muttered into his shirt, barely coherent. He chuckled as he hugged her protectively and kissed the top of her head.

"Just go to sleep already." He said, receiving a sigh of fatigue from her. After several minutes of adjusting their position once and awhile, Syaoran finally felt Sakura's even breathing again. _'Good.' _He mentally smiled as he too drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: **So, I had this ready around the time I published chapter 4 and then realized my chapters aren't as long as I thought it would be so I'll try writing in more _interesting_ scenes from now on. Also, I thought, being a chapter ahead of publishing is good, ne? I wanted to set my personal goal before I published this chapter too. And I did! **Thanks to YOU, the reader! Woot!** At first, I thought the reader stats on this story was because I checked it hecka times but somewhere out there, SOMEONE'S READING THIS AND THAT'S YOU! Amazing. :D Even if it was just you who still thought this story was worth reading, I'd write for you, in all seriousness-ness! I will and I am! Haha will.. (I just recently realized that this artist's name spells 'William'. What is wrong with me? Hahaha. I liked him in Wolverine because he co-starred with super hot guys like Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds! xD)

Anywho, with the daydreaming aside, I'm a delicate creature, so be kind to my fragile heart, review and DEMAND more chapters from me! Hahahah! That is all. Thanks. ^_^


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